Michigan Law Will Require Women To Purchase Insurance Rider For Abortion Coverage

An initiative requiring women to buy additional insurance for abortion coverage passed the Michigan Legislature yesterday, and will take effect 90 days after they adjourn for the year. The news for women is just getting better and by better. And by better, I mean mind-numbingly worse.

The initiative will require most public and private insurance plans to provide a rider for abortion coverage. Women basically have to purchase “abortion insurance.” They may never be in a position to need one – but just in case they have to pay for a rider. What kind of backwards thinking is this? I am firmly in the camp that all abortions should be covered – elective and medically necessary. Not only is this totally anti-woman, it’s anti-victim as well. Clearly no woman expects to be raped – this will just add another layer of trauma and trouble as the procedure will not be covered unless she has planned ahead for a situation like this. This is tantamount to “rape insurance.” This is sick.

This was a citizen-initiated petition, started by the Michigan Right to Life organization. It was initiated after Governor Rick Snyder vetoed similar legislation last year:

The citizen-initiated legislative petition drive has been used four times successfully in the past, including three abortion-related questions and eliminating the single business tax. It allows the Legislature to act on the petition and it becomes law 90 days after lawmakers adjourn for the year. It is not subject to approval or veto from Snyder.

There are eight other states that have instituted policies that prohibit public and private health insurance from covering abortion care. Isn’t it great being a woman in America – where seemingly every decision we should be able to make for ourselves is up for a vote?

It’s almost as if people feel like we have nothing else to worry about in this country. Never mind our horrid economy, child hunger, diminishing test scores – what’s happening inside her vagina? That’s what I’m most concerned about!

“These legislators need to know what they just did,” said Shelli Weisberg, a spokeswoman for the ACLU of Michigan. “Women are mad. It’s like every election cycle, they do something that specifically goes against women.”